Letting go of Frustration

Hello Indiana,​ I don't know about you, but I genuinely enjoy what I do most of the time. In fact, many in our field have chosen this path because it's something they truly love. Tired of reading about managing work frustrations? Let my soothing voice-over make it less frustrating. Relax, press play, and laugh at the irony. That said, even if you love working on the web, it can get frustrating sometimes. Indeed, it's because we're passionate about our job that it can sometimes feel maddening. It's tough when a client, colleague or manager rejects our work or decides to go in a different direction. It can feel like our opinions don't matter, our expertise is dismissed, and our work undervalued. If we were just clocking in for the paycheck, maybe this wouldn't matter. But we care, and over time, this resistance can become draining. So, how can we handle these feelings? How can we avoid becoming perpetually frustrated or eventually demoralized? I'm no expert in this. I still get frustrated in my work. However, I've managed to improve things largely thanks to adopting some different ways of thinking. Emotional Distance from Work Firstly, I've had to learn to emotionally distance myself from my work. We often base our self-worth on our work. So when it's rejected, it hurts our self-esteem. Building our self-esteem on our work isn't healthy. It lets criticisms of our work feel like personal attacks. We need to realize we're more than what we produce. We have inherent value just by being ourselves. Treat Convincing Others as a Game If that's a bit too deep, think of winning over colleagues, clients, and management as a game. The goal is to get others to implement our ideas. Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose. Seeing it as a game helps soften the sting of rejection. Instead of feeling personally rejected, it feels like we just didn't win this round. Consider Different Perspectives If that doesn't resonate, how about applying cold logic. As UX specialists, we view everything from a user's perspective, but it's not the only one. Our colleagues and management, with their different specialisms, consider factors we might miss. We don't hold all the puzzle pieces, so we may not grasp the full picture. When our ideas are rejected, there could be valid reasons that we don't understand. It's our job to make recommendations based on our experience. But our colleagues, clients, and management may have equally valid perspectives we are unaware of. Ask If There Is a Problem Sometimes it's hard to know why our ideas were rejected. Our inner critic may assume it's because of us or that others are dissatisfied with our work. Don't let that worry you. Instead, you're concerned about how others perceive you or your work, ask them. It shows that you value their judgment and gives you the answers you need to silence your inner critic. Frustration with our work can be a positive sign, showing that we care and take our jobs seriously. However, it can also become destructive, leading to demoralization and lackluster performance. Some may try to find a new job where they feel more appreciated, but much of this problem is internal. We need to find ways to manage our frustrations, not run from them. At least, that's how I see it. But, it would be interested to hear what you think so drop me a reply to paul@boagworld.com. Thanks, ​ ​ ​ Is there something you would like me to write about? You can suggest topics and vote for the suggestions of others using the option below. SUGGEST A TOPIC If you no longer want to hear from me, I completely understand and you can unsubscribe from all emails here. Alternatively, if you need to update any of the information about yourself you can edit your profile here. ​ ​